Our world is changing socially, ecologically, and culturally with extreme rapidity. We are creating cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, yet at the same time we are in the grip of our sixth major extinction as ecosystems strain, leaving humans on the edge of extinction themselves. What stories are emerging in art, film, theatre, social media, cultural studies, and literature in response to these changes, and how are these shaped by technology? How do these changes affect different generations, from those who are born with digital technologies (digital natives), to those who adapt to it? How can we, as scholars from the humanities, contemplate edges and edginess, and their implications for our institutions and our society?

Papers presented by UQ SCA Research Higher Degrees students are eligible to be considered for the Dr John McCulloch Memorial Prize, worth $1000. There is also a TAASA (The Asian Arts Society of Australia, Qld) Prize for best paper selected from the Asia-Pacific Rim panel, worth $500. A TAASA student bursary, also worth $500, will be offered to one interstate student to assist with travel. Further application details for prizes and the bursary will be provided at a later date.